Program Overview

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BA (Honours) Media and Communications

Course summary

The BA (Hons) Media and Communications course aims to provide you with well-rounded creative skills and knowledge, allowing you to experience, practice and critically evaluate the development, evolution and operation of local, national and global media, communication and cultural industries.

How you learn

You will learn to become a creative practitioner and academic researcher, linking theory and practice while discovering more about careers in the cultural and media industries.

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Tutorials
• Live projects
• Virtual learning environment/resources
• Self-directed learning

Key themes

• Analyse the social, cultural, and political impact of media, communication and cultural productions and industries on a variety of audiences.
• Use industry-standard tools to produce creative media content for local, national and global audiences.
• Apply your knowledge to professional contexts and scenarios including working with real clients and employers.
• Benefit from a year long work placement opportunity, setting you apart from the crowd, boosting your employability.

Course support

You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate level employment through a number of key areas. These include:

• Access to specialist support services to help with your personal, academic and career development.
• Access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones, webinars, and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments.
• Industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities.

Applied learning

Work placements

In all years of the course, you will have the opportunity to engage in authentic work experience, in response to an exciting brief set by a client/employer. You’ll also be encouraged to arrange a year-long work placement in between the second and final year of the degree. This will give you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career and allow you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.

Live projects

Each year, you will work directly with employers and develop your entrepreneurship in the industry, not only boosting your career readiness but also building connections with professionals in key industry sectors.

Field trips

You will have opportunities to join field trips to various locations that are enriched with the history, development and future of media, communication and culture to learn from the real world beyond the classroom. Potential field trip locations include the National Videogame Museum, International Slavery Museum, MediaCity UK and Bletchley Park (actual field trip is subject to course/module arrangement, and availability during the academic years)

Networking opportunities

Guest lectures delivered by industrial and academic experts will give you opportunities to meet and talk with key professionals, including those in the field of creative media production, film making, digital design, and communication studies. You will also have opportunities to attend careers fairs, including the annual Pathway employability event where you can meet employers from creative media industries. Furthermore, you will have chances to attend specialised events, such as Sheffield Docfest and York Aesthetica Film Festival to understand the keep up with the development in the Media and Communication industry (specific event opportunities are subject to course and module arrangement each academic year).

Modules

Year 1

• Creative Media Fundamentals (40 credits)
  • This module provides a practical introduction to some of the primary professional tools and creative media platforms.
  • You will develop a fundamental understanding of the nature and use of a range of creative media hardware and software tools.
• Key Developments In Media And Communications (40 credits)
  • This module explores important developments in the history of media, culture and communications.
  • It considers the impact of key historical events, technological developments and theoretical perspectives on how we understand, consume, research and produce culture as well as what the future of the cultural industries might look like.
• Media Industries 1 (20 credits)
  • The module introduces the main processes, people, work, and funding involved in the development and production of media content in the media and cultural industries, such as film, television, screen and digital media.
• User Experience Design (Ux) (20 credits)
  • In this module you will consider User Experience Design and the role of the User Experience (UX) Designer.
  • Applying themes and theories to your subject area, the module will introduce this important process and the key concepts within.

Year 2

• Identities, Representations And Politics 1 (20 credits)
  • This module examines the relationship between politics, identities and culture, with a particular focus on media representations of people from different identity groups.
• Identities, Representations And Politics 2 (20 credits)
  • This module explores the challenges, impacts and opportunities of working in the media, creative and cultural industries, with a particular focus on issues relating to identity, representations and politics.
• Screen Storytelling (40 credits)
  • Module Aim: In this module, you will examine how stories are told on screen across a variety of different media, with particular emphasis on film and television.
• Working In Cultural, Media And Creative Industries (40 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to take you through the design, production, marketing, live streaming and documentation of creative industries events.

Year 3

• Digital Cultures And Technologies (40 credits)
  • This module proposes a broad range of trends, concepts, themes, theories, and debates within digital cultures and technologies.
• Independent Project In Culture And Media (40 credits)
  • This module engages you to work independently on an individual project, choosing between two possible routes: a dissertation or a digital media production.
• Media At The Margins (20 credits)
  • This module introduces the notion of media outside of the mainstream in various forms including alternative, cult, experimental and activist.
• Media Industries 2 (20 credits)
  • This module develops and consolidates understanding of the media and cultural industries, examining the main processes, people and work in contemporary global media distribution and exhibition.

Future careers

This course prepares you for a career in:

• Digital Media Marketing and Branding
• Social Media Management
• Digital Editing and Publishing
• Digital data analytics
• Audience and Client Research
• Project Management
• App/Web/UX Design
• Graphic Design
• Film and TV Production
• Curation
• Advertising
• Broadcasting
• Campaigns Director
• Civil Service
• Crisis management
• Events management
• Lobbying
• Local government
• Media relations
• Public affairs
• Public relations
• Public sector, including teaching.
• Voluntary sector, charities

Equipment and facilities

You will be studying in a variety of university spaces, including lecture theatres, seminar rooms and computer labs. You will also have access to equipment and facilities including:

• Professional creative media software and hardware, including Adobe Creative Suite.
• Academic research and writing tools such as Office 365 software set.
• Management and storage tools for your coursework and project, such as Microsoft One Drive
• Library resources including academic literature and databases.
• Virtual and online learning environments and tools, such as Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Ultra

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

Entry requirements

• UCAS points: 112-120
• GCSE: English Language at grade C or 4, Maths at grade C or 4
• Access: an Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 15 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above, from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.
• IELTS: 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent.

Fees and funding

• Home students: £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)
• International students: £18,000 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)

Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

• General course additional costs
• Additional costs for Sheffield Creative Industries Institute (PDF, 745.6KB)